Wednesday, January 30, 2013

1. I like how in the video on peer editing it defines "peer" then "editing". Many people do not like to peer edit or do not do it correctly because it is a friend and they do not want to correct them. Well as the video discusses it, do not think of it as correcting. Think of editing as helping a friend out and making their work better. Remember to always keep a positive outlook when editing because you want to make it better not bring the peer down. Remember the three steps to peer editing as stated in the video. Overall the video was very helpful and had tons of useful information!
The slideshow, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial was very similar (almost identical) to video above. Once again, useful information.
I love that young students did this video! I think it helped them learn about peer editing while teaching others about it. I love how this is humorous while still informative. Even though these are young students, they know what they are talking about, these stereotypical students are in classes and they do not help with peer review, they are only bringing students down. So stay positive!

2. The "Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children" video is helpful. It made me actually think about children with vision and hearing impairments. We know they are out there only, if you do not have interaction with them daily, it is out of sight out of mind. One of the fist images really brings the video into prospective because it shows how the children see and hear.

The Mountbatten tool is a great resource for teachers to include all students into the classroom. I did not even know about this tool till I viewed the video, but now that I know about it I would want it in my classroom. If I have deaf or blind students in my classroom, I would push administration to have this resource so that all students would have a fair chance to learn and apply material.

The video "Teaching Math to the Blind" shows that the professor is very passionate about this topic. The staff working on this would have had to learn braille rules and how it works and such before they began altering the system of how it is writing. Also, you would have to have an interest to put this much work into any topic this extensive. I think it is very motivational that this staff is working on making it more of an even playing field in the classroom for the vision impaired students.

The iPad for Blind is amazing! I love that it is also done by a visually impaired person. It is very helpful for simple things so that visually impaired can also enjoy iPad and current technology. The next video on the mom is also a helpful video because she is only trying to understand how her child is learning on an iPad so that she can help her child more. In a classroom this tools might be helpful because they are tools to help impaired students that could be mainstreamed into classrooms. In the classroom if I had motives to, I would do all that I could to help the impaired students to stay on pace with the mainstream students. Just because a student is impaired does not mean they have to be left behind, we as educators should try harder to assist them because they have to try harder to learn the material.

3. Not even thirty seconds in, I notice the students are about middle school age. I also notice that Vicki Davis is the IT Director. To have an IT Director, this school must be very involved in the digital world. Until I came to college my schools never did more than YouTube videos and using Microsoft programs. The Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts video shows that students can learn at a younger age and that educators do need to teach them early so they are aware and know how to apply these programs in the real world.
This teacher has given students more than just a classroom activity or project. She has given these children a whole new perspective of the world and how to apply information. She inspires me personally to not under estimate students on age and just to begin teaching and see how it goes because you have to start somewhere.

Friday, January 25, 2013

This video is more of an essay but a very informative essay. There are many statistics that are reviewed but they are statistics that pertain to many people I believe, including me. This video is such an eye opener in the sense that in everyday life we do not think about these facts. The first point presented about India did not surprise me. School in America is more of a requirement than an option. In India for most students, it is an option and therefore they will want to work harder and push themselves. The number of English speaking Chinese outweighing the remaining world also does not surprise. If you look at the population of China compared to the population of another country, China is highly overpopulated. Therefore if the Chinese continue to be over populated it would only make sense that they would be the highest number of English speaking Chinese.
It was not until the YouTube points that this video actually came into perspective for me. I knew YouTube was very popular but I had no idea it was that large of a number that were viewed a minute. One question I do have is "How do 48 hours of video get uploaded for every minute?" Next is the Google search which was not a surprise at all nor was the SMS messaging count. I was actually surprised that the message exchange took that long to relay. The computer slides were good to note because most teachers assume all students do not have a computer which can hinder many students from great resources. Lastly, the job points were interesting because once again that is not a topic that I often think about in numbers.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman

Watching this video, at first I was confused then I watched it again. Then I began thinking about it and this video is touching on the idea that we have changed everything in life, in my opinion to be better, except for schools. Schools have not changed in the idea of how the students are taught. Teachers still lecture while the students fall asleep trying to take notes. I have seen how some teachers try to change the process but many do not know any other way to teach.
The video is showing how Mr. Winkle does not like that changes made to society. He is most likely similar to the rest of the population in the sense that he does not understand therefore he rejects it. He does not like the tools used by the offices such as computers. I think that computers are a great resource that help us to do jobs more efficient and quicker.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Watch the entire talk The Importance of Creativity. Think about what you have heard. Write two or more paragraphs.From the beginning of the video, Sir Ken Robinson gains my attention by talking about how everyone has an interesting education. This is a very true statement that anyone can relate to because everyone has some kind of educational background. People take pride in their educational and where it takes them. He then discusses how all kids have talent but educators crush it because it is out of the box. I believe this is a true statement. Children will think of new ideas and as adults it is not our normal so we shut it down and crush children dreams in he process. Children are more likely to take a chance on situations because they are not afraid. They would rather do something and try than nothing and sit. You can't educate creativity therefore teachers educate creativity out.
On a side note, Sir Ken Robinson piece on Shakespeare and his father is quite funny but true. I myself have never thought of Shakespeare's father. A child thinking of an original idea or a new way to do something is better to me then doing the simple directions for the task at hand.

In light of the Mr. Winkle Wakes movie

In reference to "Mr. Winkle Wakes" these videos both refer to how the school classroom has not changed. The outcome after the classroom has been altered but the classroom it self has not. Teachers still lecture while students take notes. Later the students take an exam on the material lectured then repeat for five months at a time.
Students become so used to this cookie cutter schooling that we teach and when they enter the real world it is hard to learn the ropes. Bosses are not going to hold your hand and walk you through every step of a job. Most will tell you what needs to get done and then it is up to you. If you are a creative person this would be a little bit easier in the sense that you don't have to have step by step instructions to get a job done.

Pinterest

a. I already have a Pinterest account that I use so I was about to skip this step.
b. I am a firm believer in Pinterest for the very reasons listed in the article. I would use these ideas in my classroom because they are helpful and they work. Lesson Plans will most likely be the most useful to me. If I am unsure on how to have another approach to teach something, I can simple search Pinterest for it and options will appear.
c. I am going to choose to follow Kathy Schrock. Her board contains every kind of guide that you would need as a educator. In addition, when you click on the guide it takes you to a more elaborate and explained guide. She has many helpful tools and information for those who are learning to use technology either in or outside of the classroom.
d. I have watched the video.
e. I have looked at the linked provided.

Pinterest is a great tool for crafts, learning methods, and anything in between. It can be used for the classroom or outside of the classroom for personal use. Pinterest would be a tool that I use in my classroom almost daily. I may not pin or get on the website everyday but my lessons or activities very well may come from the site or my boards. Also, if I was teaching an older grade, I could have then sign up or create a board for each child an let them each pin something once a week just so the students stay involved.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Friday, January 18, 2013

My name is Shelby Day and I am an elementary major. I am born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. I love to travel and do so often. I was a cheerleader for 8 years and danced for 13 years. I love children and how active they are with everything they do. I also love the University of Alabama. I love the football, the atmosphere, the campus and everything in between. I am attending USA because it is close to home but still serves as a well rounded university. In my immediate family, it is Christian (brother), mom, and dad. I have family all over. My closest family to me would be my aunt's family in Birmingham or my grandparents who live on an island in Florida. I am very grateful for my grandparents because they have taught me so much, from helping others to educational values.

I want to enter the education field because of my passion to teach. Since I was younger I have always wanted to teach. I taught dance and cheer as junior assistants and moved my way up. I have always had a heart for children. They are so active and full of energy and so lively. They always keep things upbeat. I enjoy many things from watching movies, ice cream, travelling, and going to cheer competitions with work. I have two jobs and am a very active person! We only live once so we have to make the most of it!

My Teaching and My Classroom

When I begin teaching, hopefully I will be teaching younger grades. I would love something like kindergarten up to third grade classroom. If this is true I would be emphasizing on the basics and learning and adjusting to a classroom and structure. I will have a structured and organized classroom and as the students and I begin to get more comfortable around each other I would learn their personalities. By doing this I could learn who likes what resources/ tools. Based on that I could try my best to accommodate for my students. I hope to have things very well organized so that students do not have to ask me where things go or where an item could be found. My basic classroom tools would be a smart board if possible but if not a dry erase board would do. These would be my main teaching tools to present material to the students.

Students are our greatest resource therefore, one idea would be to ask the students what they would like to see in the classroom. They may ask for more books or something a teacher would have never thought of. Considering I would be teaching younger students, I think it would be beneficial to have an abundance of crafts and learning tools in the classroom. Crafts could be as simple as making a hand turkey for thanksgiving for children enjoy those sorts of activities. At this age, the students would be taught all by the same teacher. Considering this, I would think of some way to transition the students from subject to subject.

Basic tools that we would use everyday would be workbooks that joined with the curriculum, pencils, pens, paper, and learning tools. Learning tools would be something like a laminated paper clock and a different student each day could write the time and how it is draw on the clock. The same thing could also be done with a temperature gauge. Leave the thermometer outside for a few minutes and then bring it in and a student could write temperature.

The learning process would really depend on the grade and the students. Every student is different and after evaluating my students for the first few days I would most likely have a better idea of their learning styles and how they learn best. Going into the academic year I could have a "game plan" that went along with the curriculum to help me stay on track. To avoid any problems throughout the year I could have a modification for the students that learn faster or slower than the average students. Another resource that would be helpful is after school tutoring. No mater the age, some student need a little extra attention and help. For these students I have certain days that I stay after to assist them with the material that they are having trouble with.

Randy Pausch on Time Management

I have personally never heard of Dr. Pausch but after watching his video on time management I realize I should. It is no surprise that he begins with mentioning stress and procrastination. He said if you can rid procrastination you are in good shape, which I agree with. If we as a society could eliminate procrastination we would be better of and have a better boundary and respect for people. How to set goals and how to avoid wasting time are two main points I got out of this four minute video. It may only be four minutes but it is packed full of information. He also points out in the beginning that we are a society that is built on money. We do not worry about time anymore, only money and time associated with money. "Do the right things right" is also good advise that you could every give students while using it yourself. I relate to his planning speech in the way that I plan everything. I have planned my life out to a T but I have recently realized that you cannot always go with the plan. The plan will change and you will have to adjust to it. Overall Dr. Pausch is a great speaker and very informational.

Penn State University's Time Management Exercises

The benefits of a planner would definitely be the most useful tip from this page. If you had no time management skills and started with a planner, your life would become more organized and simple from only that one change. Keeping to the schedule is key.